"File:Arecibo Radiotelescopio SJU 06 2019 7472.jpg"by Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz) is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Heart-wrenching footage from 1st December 2020 shows the formerly-beloved Arecibo telescope’s collapse. Within seconds, the glorious feat of technology, one of the world’s largest single-dish telescopes, fell to its demise leaving the science community to mourn its loss.
On 10th august 2020, one of the 18 cables suspending a 900-ton instrument platform high above the 305m wide dish snapped. Two months later, on 6th November, a second cable gave in under the strain leading the National Science Foundation to announce its dismantlement. Director Sethuraman Panchanathan, the NSF director, said, “NSF prioritises the safety of workers, Arecibo Observatory’s staff and visitors, which makes this decision necessary, although unfortunate.” Just a month later the telescope took a dramatic dying breath and collapsed.
The Arecibo facility has played a major role within the astronomical field over its 58 years. It was once the world’s largest single-dish radio telescope and was the site of the observation of the spinning stars known as pulsars that led to the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physics. Prior to its collapse, astronomers were using the telescope for many studies, including radar assessments of near-Earth asteroids, and measuring their threat to the planet.
The radio astronomy community is ‘going to have a look at what was going on at Arecibo and figure out how to replace as nest we can some of those capabilities with other instruments’ says Tony Beasley. However, Arecibo was unique and its capabilities can’t be easily replaced. It was able to detect the fickle light of pulsars and could transmit radio waves allowing it to collect information on the size, shape and motion of asteroids and planets outside of our solar system. The telescope’s absence from the observational astronomical field will be felt greatly and its achievements and contributions to science will be remembered for centuries.
The general public of Puerto Rico also felt the loss. Its appearance in films such as Contact and Golden Eye increased tourism to these areas significantly. Puerto Ricans embraced hosting the technological marvel. Around 130 people work at the observatory and every schoolchild on the island used to go on a school trip to see it; “Those experiences often lead to science careers” says Abel Mendez of the University of Puerto Rico. “For Puerto Rico, losing Arecibo is like New York losing the Empire State Building, of San Francisco losing the Golden Gate Bridge,” says Rivera’s-Valentin. The country will mourn its collapse greatly.
The collapse, while devastating enough in its own right, has raised a controversial conversation topic among the science community: the global divide in American funding of science infrastructure. The collapse is most commonly attributed to the snapping of the auxiliary cables but it is claimed by many that Arecibo’s downfall was caused by years of financial struggles.
In 2006, the NSF, which supported Arecibo, implemented a 15% budget cut across its Division of Astronomical Science. Arecibo was greatly affected by this and the NSF faced resistance from people within the field. In 2007, Arecibo’s budget was further reduced from US$10.5 million to $8million. In Latin America, science infrastructure depends on budgets granted from more developed countries. In Arecibo’s case this country was America. As the USA retracted its financial involvement, Arecibo crumbled beyond saving. Many see this as an abandonment and hence the situation has stirred up recent debate. In my view, the USA should be more considerate of other countries’ and their local communities’ needs. They should address the science as well as the humanitarian impact of their actions.
Arecibo was a brilliant asset to the astronomical field and should be remembered for its incredible contributions to science. The hashtag ‘#WhatAreciboMeansToMe’ has collected hundreds of stories from locals and tourists. I urge you to visit Twitter and read some of these heartfelt stories in order to honour Arecibo’s memory.
Written by Francesca Crawley, 11HG
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